Big-K Guest Ranch is a 2,500 acre working cattle ranch. It sits on a peninsula created by the river with over 8 miles of shoreline. Without crossing Big-K Ranch land, this section of the Umpqua requires an overnight drift to fish. Their isolated location has allowed the Big-K Ranch to institute a catch and release only policy with their guests. This has not only resulted in greater numbers of fish, but greater average size as well.

The ranch maintains a series driftboat put-ins. “By having multiple launch points, we don’t have to fish the same water every day,” Scott told me. “It’s good for the fish and the fishing,” He added.

The first pool we fished was within a stones throw of the put-in. Looking over the bow of the driftboat, I could see two large silhouettes cruising a narrow slot in the rocks. Scott flipped a tube jig in front of them and one immediately jumped the offering. Scott was so excited about hooking a BIG smallmouth he handed me rod as the fish was pulling out line and said, “You got to catch this one, this is what it’s all about!” In the process, the fish changed direction creating line slack before I could get the reel under control and spit the hook.

We circled around and positioned the boat to fish the slot again. I could see the second jumbo fish and flipped my jig in its direction. The smallmouth jumped the bait before I could get the bail closed and loops of line flew in all directions. One caught the back of the reel. As I attempted to free the line it snapped with a guitar string twang when the fish had used up all the free line in front of the loop. Our first two casts had resulted in being embarrassed by the two largest fish we were to hook all day.

The Umpqua runs clear enough that we were able to sight fish most of the day. When a fish took the bait, other usually larger fish would emerge out of the rocks following the hooked fish. The movement seemed to get the larger fish into a feeding frenzy. When Scott hooked a fish, I would quickly reel in and start looking for the “trailers” and casting in front of them. This tactic produced the biggest fish of the day.

Umpqua smallmouth are aggressive feeders willing to pounce on anything floating downriver remotely resembling a possible meal. This behavior does not preclude them from liking one bait more than another. Olive tube jigs were the hot ticket this day. We got a few takers using bubble-gum/gray Sencos to lure the bigger fish out of the rocks.

The action was non-stop!! Every pool seemed to produce fish. I quit counting after twenty-something to the boat well before lunch. Fifty fish days are common fishing the Big-K Ranch. Most of the bronzebacks came out of the water at least once during the fight but their favorite tactic is to head for the fast water, dive and break your line off on a wall running perpendicular to the main channel. Although the average fish only weighs 2-3 pounds, they play like fish twice their size.

Most anglers fish the Umpqua with 8 to 10 pound test spinning gear. I had opted for my 4-pound ultra-light outfit; after all, the Oregon State Record is only 7.62 pounds. Trying to control these little locomotives on ultra-light gear was challenging and loads of fun. A few fish managed to break off, but the added excitement of the longer evenly matched battles was well worth losing a few fish. The continual pounding by the smallmouth eventually took its toll on my Shimano X-500’s drag system. As the day wore, adjustment on the drag diminished to the point of being either full on or full off.

With the lodge within sight, we started working the last pool of the day. I flipped the tube jig into the river letting the current take it over a ledge where it dropped into a deep channel. I twitched the bait a couple of times and my rod jerked hard toward the water. Immediately, I knew the drag was set way too tight; I had to do something before the little beast broke me off! As I touched the adjustment, the drag on the Shimano totally failed. The spinning reel literally went into free-spool creating a bird’s nest in the process. Somehow I managed to boat the Smallmouth palming the spool for drag, and winding in over the tangled line. Guess I should have brought the bigger reel.

If I were fishing for a trophy, I would definitely use heavier gear. If, however, your choice is to use the ultra-light tackle, make sure to bring a high quality reel with freshly serviced drag system!

The fantastic smallmouth fishing lasts from early June into September. Shad, coho, Chinook, and steelhead runs mean there is usually something to fish for at the Big-K Ranch.

Big-K Guest Ranch has 20 comfortable modern cabins and a huge lodge. Guest activities in addition to fishing include horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, river rafting and turkey hunting. The Big-K maintains its own fishing guide staff. On a normal day there are a half a dozen boats on the water. The Big-K provides all meals for its guests including lunch on the river.

Big-K Ranch is located approximately 20 miles west of I-5 north of Roseburg. Driving time is 3 hours from Portland, 9 hours from San Francisco, 8 hours from Sacramento.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife limit is ten smallmouth per day. The fishing pressure on readily accessible stretches of Umpqua has reduced both the quality and quantity of the Smallmouth population. The Big-K Ranch has submitted a proposal to ODFW to reduce the bag limit to five fish and introduce a slot limit. The Umpqua Smallmouth regulations will be under review early next year.

If you would like more information on fishing the Umpqua, contact Big-K Guest Ranch at 800.390.2445, EMAIL them, or visit their website, www.Big-K.com.